CAST: RAVEENA TANDON, PARAMBRATA CHATTOPADHYAY, ASHUTOSH RANA
DIRECTOR: VINAY WAIKUL
BLUF
Kasturi Dogra (Raveena Tandon) is the SHO, Sironah town. As she decides to take time off work to focus on her kids, Angad Mallik (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) joins in her place. But on that very day, a mysterious case of the disappearance of a teenager Aimee is reported.
Who is Aimee? Where is she and what happened the night, she disappeared is the plot of Aranyak.
The journey of cops Kasturi Dogra and Angad Mallik while they investigate the case of the disappearance of Aimee and their personal lives form the rest of the series plot.
THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES
There seem to be many similarities between Aranyak and Candy, the series on Voot. The hill station has a lady SHO, a township traumatized by a ghastly murder, a bereaved father who is also part of the probe, the drugs, local politics, and extended family drama. To wrap all this up is a fantastical myth propagated around these deaths.
The slick execution of the plot is just outstanding. It sets up the beautiful Himalayan locales against the backdrop of mystery and suspense well
And the set up for a very intriguing yoke into season 2
IN THE KNOW
Created by Rohan Sippy, Vinay Waikul has directed the series. It is a suspense and mystery thriller about a missing girl who is later found dead.
Raveena Tandon who debuts in this series on the web, looks like old wine. She has only grown better with time and delivers Kasturi with aplomb. Accent and mannerism intact.
Parambrata Chattopadhyay and her chemistry whether they are pitted against each other or supporting their points of view is human, electric, and respectable all at once and it weaves magic for the show.
He delivers Angad to perfection. Ashutosh Rana is excellence personified and makes every frame worth the watch. Zakir Husain is consistent. Indraneil Sengupta brings a lot of intensity to his role. Meghna Mallik assists in keeping the interest active with her part. Taneesha Joshi, Wishvesh Sharkholi, and Vivek Madan all fit in well.
Aranyak takes time to take off. The outline of its characters, setting their motivations and backstories consumes far more time than I should have. However, everything ties in perfectly to the end of Season one leaving a lot to be looking forward to in Season two.
The narrative has a linear simplicity, and the Director keeps the story simple. The shadows, the Himalayan valleys, the trees, and the aerial views make the storytelling easy.
The series is of top-notch quality in whatever way you would want to assess it.
Ketan Sodha’s music is a fantastic plus to the series and matches the superb cinematography by Saurabh Goswami. Yasha Jaidev Ramchandani’s editing is brilliant. Charudutt Acharya scores with his writing.
WHAT WE LOVED
Cast
The locales
BGM
Cinematography and Direction
WHAT WE MISSED
Takes time to take off
